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Meme of the day
Category: The Current Situation
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A reminder
Here is Mike Pompeo, less than a year ago, meeting with Afghanistan’s new ‘president,’ Taliban leader Mullah Baradar, who the Trump administration had released from prison in 2018. But sure, Mike, tell us more about ‘deterrence’ and toughness. https://t.co/7BYMTQ4cDB pic.twitter.com/xtgbhjNWec
— Mehdi Hasan (@mehdirhasan) August 15, 2021
In 2018, Trump got Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar released from prison.
In 2020, Trump's Secretary of State met with Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar.
In 2021, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar is set to become the President of Afghanistan under Taliban rule. pic.twitter.com/pbdus8aeZx
— No Lie with Brian Tyler Cohen (@NoLieWithBTC) August 15, 2021
Also worth checking out is this article from The Hindu: Mullah Baradar released by Pakistan at the behest of US: Khalilzad (Feburary 9, 2019)
And then, after Baradar’s release, do you remember the hush-hush plans to meet with the Taliban at Camp David back in 2019? See these articles:
- New York Times — How Trump’s Plan to Secretly Meet With the Taliban Came Together, and Fell Apart (September 8, 2019)
- Military Times — Trump calls off secret Camp David meeting with Taliban, Afghan leaders (September 8, 2019)
- CNN — Trump overruled advisers, VP on Taliban Camp David meeting (September 9, 2019)
- The New Yorker — Trump’s stunt with the Taliban was not about negotiating peace (September 9, 2019)
And as for the withdrawal, remember that Trump had set a withdrawal date of much earlier this year — May 1:
- In fact, he wanted them home by Christmas 2020: Trump ‘to order further troop withdrawal’ from Afghanistan and Iraq (BBC News, November 16, 2020)
- USA Today — Biden faces Trump’s deadline on Afghanistan troop withdrawal: ‘Any way you cut it, we are headed for a messy outcome’ (March 17, 2021)
- CNN: Trump calls Afghanistan withdrawal ‘a wonderful and positive thing to do’ and criticizes Biden’s timeline (April 19, 2021)
- CBS News: Trump backs Afghanistan withdrawal, putting him at odds with some Republicans (April 19, 2021)
“Captain’s log, stardate 2021.0804. Our mission to planet Florida requires us to beam down. The landing party will consist of myself, Mr. Spock, Dr. McCoy, and Ensign ButMahFreedoms.”
5 hours ago:
From WPTV News, West Palm Beach, Florida:
“EVERGLADES NATIONAL PARK, Fla. — Florida is not shutting down and COVID-19 “hospital admissions have slowed,” Gov. Ron DeSantis emphatically declared on Tuesday, despite yet another day of record coronavirus hospitalizations in the Sunshine State.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said 11,515 people were hospitalized for COVID-19 in Florida on Monday, including 2,400 in ICU beds.”
2 hours ago:
From The Hill:
On Tuesday, Florida hit 11,515 hospitalizations due to COVID-19, marking the third straight day that the state has broken its record. About 2,400 patients are now in intensive care. At the same time, there’s concern among experts that the Sunshine State is still weeks away from hitting its peak. The state now accounts for roughly 1 in 5 new cases nationally.
Still, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a rising Republican star who won accolades from conservatives last year for his laissez faire approach to the pandemic, has resisted calls for new mask mandates or lockdowns, arguing that such restrictions had worsened the public health and economic effects on other states.
DeSantis and the Republican-controlled state legislature have also sought to preempt county and local governments from imposing their own rules, drawing backlash from local officials.
“We’re not allowed to have mask mandates now,” Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber said in an interview on CNN this week. “We were one of the first cities to require it and we charged a fine just to get people to do it. The governor stopped allowing us to do it and then immediately we saw a surge across our county and state when he did that.”
1 hour ago:
From The Hill’s “Changing America” section:
Florida hospitals are being occupied by young patients amidst the delta variant that is wreaking havoc in Florida.
As Changing America previously reported, Florida is one of the fastest accelerating places infected by the delta variant.
While Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.) continues to resist recommendations from health officials to mandate mask wearing and social distancing, youth in the Sunshine State are being struck with the virus, the Miami Herald reported.
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Happy August!
It’s August 1st, 2020! I know that it’s tradition to say “Rabbit rabbit” on the first day of the month, but in this case, I think “Stabby stabby” is more appropriate.